Cellphone leads Ferndale Police to suspects in Star Park shelter arson

FERNDALE, Wash. — Ferndale Police announced today, May 21st, they have identified suspects in an arson fire at a shelter adjacent to Star Park on December 27, 2023.

According to today’s announcement, the fire caused damage to the structure and a repair estimate is over $180,000. A nearby public restroom building was also damaged and it is estimated to cost $300 to repair.

There were no suspects on scene when police arrived. The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) assisted with a K-9 track which led from the scene of the fire towards the downtown Ferndale area but were unable to locate any suspects.

Due to the extensive damage, investigators applied for a search warrant, which would show any phones in the area at the time of the fire. The results of this warrant provided subscriber information for phones which included names, emails, and phone numbers. Based on this information, investigators applied for additional warrants to collect digital evidence for devices in the area at the time of the fire. Bellingham Police Department assisted with retrieving and collecting digital evidence.

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The digital evidence collected from the warrants showed that a device was on scene at the time of the fire and the device was plotted leaving along the same route as the WCSO K-9 track. Additional digital evidence was retrieved, including a photo of a trash can on fire and a video of several subjects near the fire. Characteristics of the trash can show that it was located at the scene of the Star Park fire.

The Star Park Shelter sink area was also identified in the video, showing that it was recorded during the fire. The subjects in the video can be seen adding toilet paper to the fire while stating, “unroll more of it” and “hurry, hurry…it’s about to go out”. These statements make it clear that the subjects were intentionally trying to keep the fire going.

The evidence recovered from the search warrants allowed investigators to identify juvenile suspects and develop probable cause for arrest. One of the suspects was booked into juvenile detention on 5/21/2024.

– Ferndale Police Department (May 21, 2024)